


Oath Keeper

by GenderfluidXehanort



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Prince and Knight AU, Trans Male Character, big gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 00:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16006340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenderfluidXehanort/pseuds/GenderfluidXehanort
Summary: Riku had been Sora's knight for over 14 years and his feelings for him only grew over time. When the prince invites him for a day out, Riku is curious as to what he has planned. Romance ensues.





	Oath Keeper

Everything was far too large. The doors to the throne room were large, the ceilings reaching even higher. Riku had to crane his head back almost entirely to see up to the chandelier dangling from the ceiling. The crowds were large too, it seemed that almost everyone in the kingdom was here to witness the ceremony. Riku was to be the youngest person in the kingdom to be knighted. He held on tighter to his father’s armored hand and felt him laugh in response.

“Relax Riku. It’s not like you haven’t played with Sora before. You know him, there’s no need to be nervous.”

“Exactly dear. Being his knight will be nothing different than being his friend.” He heard his mother say from his other side. Her hand was armored as well, cold to the touch. It only seemed to make him more nervous.

“But now I have to protect him, make sure he doesn’t get hurt.” Riku said quietly. The closer they got to the awaiting figures on the other side of the room the more he panicked.

“Is that any different then how you would treat him now?” His father said. Riku hadn’t considered that. Both of his parents laughed quietly, his mother bending down to kiss him on the top of his head.

“I’m so glad the three of you could make it.” They all bowed deeply at the Queen’s words and to the King who stood tall behind her. “Especially you Riku. Today is a momentous day, as you will become my sons most trusted knight. I’m sure your parents are both very proud of you as well.”

Riku blushed slightly. “I-I um… I’m honored, your majesty…” He stood up straight and saw Sora waving at him enthusiastically from behind his mother. Riku couldn’t help but smile and wave back.

“Kneel here.” She gestured to a small, plush red pillow on the floor. Riku turned to look at his parents, who both smiled at him encouragingly and he did as he was ordered.. “Sora, darling, stand in front of me.”

Sora shuffled in front of her, practically vibrating with excitement. “I’m sooo excited, Riku! I can’t wait for you to be my knight.” He whispered at Riku, smiling from ear to ear.

“And I can’t wait to be your knight.” He heard Sora squeal and he giggled in return. They both glanced to the Queen, who had produced a shortsword, handing it to Sora.

“Just like we practiced, remember?” Sora nodded furiously and cleared his throat.

“Riku. Do you swear to always be brave, never avoid dangerous paths out of fear. To always be charitable and defend the poor and helpless, to always speak the truth. Do you swear to always be loyal to me, your lord, to protect me from harm and any hardships that come my way?” Sora said, clearly and for the first time this evening, seriously.

“I-I do…” Riku stammered out, embarrassed now by how not enunciated his words were compared to Sora’s.

“Then I hereby dub you Sir Riku. Long may you serve me and long may you serve the people of Destiny Forge.” Sora gently rested the sword upon his right shoulder, then the top of his head and finally to his left. 

The crowd erupted in cheers as soon as Sora finished the ceremony and Riku felt himself being pushed back with the weight of a crushing hug. Sora laughed and held onto Riku, Riku returning his hug with just as much enthusiasm. 

“Oh Riku, I’m so happy right now! I feel like I can burst!”

“Not on my watch. I’m here to make sure you never get hurt, remember?” They both paused at Riku’s words before Sora erupted into another fit of giggles.

“I just know it Riku, we’re gonna be best friends forever.”

~~~~~

Riku rubbed the sleep from his eyes, stretching his sleep stiff muscles and swinging his legs off the side of his bed. He looked at himself in the tall mirror on the other side of his room and sighed. His hair was a mess but that was the price he paid for keeping his hair as long as it was.

But he had time to spare as he always awoke at the crack of dawn and he didn’t need to be at the palace until 9 to 10. Sora always slept pretty late.

Riku glanced at the polished dark metal of his armor on its stand. He silently debated whether or not to forgo it for the day but decided against it. This had been routine for the past 14 years and he wasn't about to break routine, especially with the lingering threat from the neighboring kingdom looming over them. 

Besides, he was proud to bear its weight. It held significance, it was a sign of the hardships he had overcome. Riku rubbed at the scar that crossed the bridge of his nose as he walked to the large bathroom that accompanied his room. He smiled at the memory of when he got it. 

~~~~~

“Riku… R-Riku no… I’m so sorry Riku…” Sora sniffled, his hands cupping Riku’s blood stained cheeks, his forehead pressed tight against his. “This wouldn’t have happened if I didn't ask you to come with me today…”

Riku could feel sobs wrack Sora’s body, tears falling softly onto his cheeks. Sora’s hands felt progressively cooler against his skin and Riku could surmise that he was using a cure spell on him. He smiled. Sora’s magic was getting so much better. 

“Sora, none of this is your fault.” He shifted where he was on Sora’s bed so he was sitting up. “If I hadn’t been there, this could’ve happened to you. You could’ve been kidnapped or... “ Riku swallowed down the lump in his throat. “Or worse. If I hadn’t been there to protect you… I wouldn't be able to live with myself.”

One of Sora’s hands left Riku’s face and went for a small water basin on his bedside table. He rang out the water and began to dab the blood from his cheeks. He looked down sadly, tears still freely falling down his cheeks. 

“From this day forward, we’ll protect each other. I've been selfish for too long, taking you for granted. I don't want to see you get hurt like this again.” He wiped the blood from the bridge of Riku’s nose, wincing at the deep, dark scar that lay there. “As long as I wear this necklace that you gave me, then I will be your knight as well. That’s my oath to you.” He looked up through sad eyes, trying to see Riku’s reaction. 

Riku smiled and cupped Sora’s cheek, bringing their foreheads together. “If you say so, your highness. We will be each other's oath keepers.” 

Sora smiled through tears and wrapped Riku in a crushing hug. They stayed like that for hours. 

~~~~~

Riku smiled fondly as he combed through his hair. He knew Sora felt guilty whenever he saw the scar but Riku didn’t mind. He thought it added to the rugged sort of appearance he was going for. He also liked how Sora runs his thumb across it occasionally, though he wished he would make sure Kairi wasn’t nearby when he did. Riku still hasn’t heard the last of it from last time.

He and Sora both bore the scars of combat, some scars worse than others. He winced as he thought about the wide scar above Sora’s heart but decided not to think about it any further. The memory always made him feel sick.

Once his hair was tied tightly into a braid he went back into his main bedroom and began to change out of his night clothes into his under armor. He still had a few hours to go before having to head to the castle. Once fully dressed, Riku headed downstairs and into the yard of his home, picking up a small wooden bucket full of seed and made his way to the coop that sat towards the back of the yard.

“Alright ladies. Let’s see what you have for us today.” He grabbed a handful of seed and tossed it out into the grass before unlatching the door to the coop, lifting the hatch to the nesting boxes, smiling when he found 5 large eggs which he set down gently in the bucket of seed. He grabbed another handful and tossed it out for the hens, who squawked happily. His parents would tend to them throughout the day so he decided to take the eggs and lay them in a small dish on the kitchen table.

The sun was still just starting to rise. Riku sighed. “Might as well make it easier on the maids…”

~~~~~

By the time it had hit 9, Riku was pretty sure they could just have the maids stay home for the day. Maybe Riku could start training himself to wake up later in the day or perhaps he could get some training in in the mornings as well. He had time to decide. 

Riku had received a ledger in the time he was doing his chores, addressed to him from Kairi that stated a detail he really wished she had told him a day prior. 

‘I forgot to tell you yesterday that Sora wants you to dress casually today. He has something planned for the two of you and armor would just get in the way

That sounded a bit suggestive, I didn't mean it that way but who knows, if you finally tell Sora how you feel about him it could happen. 

Kairi’

It had taken Riku about 10 minutes for his face to stop feeling like it was on fire. But he heeded its instructions and changed from his under armor to a light cotton shirt, tight riding pants and boots. He also undid his braid in favor of a loose bun instead. 

To be honest it felt nice to dress down for once, though it did make Riku insanely curious of what Sora had planned. 

~~~~~

The ride to the palace from his home wasn’t far. About 10 minutes on horseback, which didn’t amount to much, considering Riku lived within the inner city anyways. Riku smiled when he reached the palace gates, the guards letting him in with little thought. He had been making trips here everyday since he was 6. It was common place to see him arrive this early in the morning.

Once in the palace he let his horse be taken by a stable keeper, patting the horse on the neck a couple times before walking in the palace itself.

“Riku! Riku over here!” His attention was immediately taken by Kairi, who waved expectantly from the doorway of the nearby kitchen.

“Kairi? You’re usually not this energetic in the morning…” Riku entered the kitchen and Kairi began messing with his hair, tucking it behind his ears and fussing with his bun. “Hey, what’re you doing?” When he didn’t stop he grabbed her hands. “What’s up with you?”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I want you to look nice for today.” She straightened out his shirt and when she was satisfied, grabbed a tray of food and shoved it into his hands. “Here, take this up to Sora.”

“Look nice? Wait, Kairi what’s going on?” He looked confused at the tray in his hands. “And isn’t this your job? Is he still not awake?”

“Oh, just go!” She began to push on his back to get him to move forward. “Make sure he eats and gets dressed properly before you two leave.”

“Kairi wait!” The door was slammed behind him, leaving him in the hallway alone. He sighed but made his way up the stairs anyways.

Sora’s room sat at the end of a large hallway, paintings of past kings and queens decorating the walls. It always seemed to make Riku feel like he was being judged until he reached the final three paintings. He always paused to look at them.

The first was a portrait of Sora and his brothers, his two older brothers and his twin, who had left the castle a couple of months before. None of Sora’s brothers lived in the castle anymore, having married away to another kingdom or leaving to rule on their own. Riku knew how sad it made Sora when Roxas had left not to long ago, and he still was, even if he didn’t decide to show it.

The second was a portrait of Sora and Kairi, made fairly recently, maybe about 5 years before, when they were both 13. They both had the faintest of smiles on their faces, but Riku remembered when it was painted and how they hadn’t been able to sit still. You could see the brush strokes where the artist had to redo mistakes. The memory always served to make Riku smile.

But the final portrait was his favorite. It was painted the day after Riku’s coronation, both him and Sora dressed to the nines, smiling widely without a care in the world. Riku found it odd now to see himself without the broad scar across the bridge of his nose or Sora before his hair had gone completely wild. Riku remember it fondly, when the portrait had been made, Riku kept grabbing onto Sora’s hand to keep him still in his chair but Sora kept still throughout.

Riku smiled and pushed open the door to Sora’s room, noting the soft snoring coming from the bed. Riku placed the tray on one of Sora’s bedside tables and opened the curtains, letting the sun into the room. He saw Sora stir and groan, tucking his face further under the duvet.

“Kairi… Five more minutes…” He grumbled out, causing Riku to chuckle. He sat down next to Sora’s form and smiled.

“Guess you don’t want your breakfast then.” There was a sharp movement under the covers before Sora sat up, hair even more of a mess and looked towards Riku.

“R-Riku?! Kairi sent you up to wake me up?” Sora said, confused. Riku just smiled and placed the tray on Sora’s lap.

“Mhm. Now eat up, Kairi said you have something planned for us today?” Riku had to keep his gaze away from the open collar of Sora’s night shirt as he was just tall enough that if he glanced down he could see his small breasts. He blushed and looked down at his lap as Sora ate. “Where are we going today?”

“I’m not gonna tell you. It’s a surprise, dummy.” Sora said, shovelling food into his mouth. “I just gotta get dressed then we can go.”

“Alright. Surprise it is.”

Sora finished his breakfast quickly and got out of bed, skipping to his wardrobe and throwing open the doors. “Gotta find something to wear…” He shrugged off his nightshirt, letting it fall to the ground. Riku had to keep himself from choking.

It had been a while since Riku had seen Sora without something covering his chest. After they went through puberty, Sora had began to go shirtless less and less when around Riku, and while his breasts were small they were still there. Riku understood why but as the current object of his affection stood before him half nude, he found it hard to breathe.

“Just wear something comfortable… That’s what Kairi told me.” Riku kept his head turned away from Sora as he changed. 

“Riku, you don’t have to look away when I change.” He felt a weight hit the bed and glanced up to see Sora pulling on his riding boots.

“It just feels like common courtesy.” Riku said, standing up and offering a hand to Sora, who took it and let himself be pulled up from the bed.

“Well I’m just saying. Don’t feel shy when you see me shirtless.” Sora looked away from Riku and muttered into his hand. “Gods know I don’t look away from you…”

~~~~~

Wherever Sora was taking him, it was quite a ways off. It had already been about a half hour from when they started, but Sora assured them they were almost there. Riku couldn’t help but keep sneaking glances at Sora, looking regal as ever, even more so as he at atop his stark white stallion. It made Riku feel slightly inferior but he loved his horse all the same, even if it was just plain and brown.

“I think we’re just about there…” Sora stood on his stirrups, peeking above the trail line. “Yeah! Riku it’s just over here, c’mon!” He brought his horse to a gallop and disappeared before him.

“S-Sora wait!” Riku had to run faster to catch up with him. “You can’t just run off like… that…” Riku brought his horse to a trot when he entered a large clearing, pond in the middle. He saw Sora tying his horse to a tree and followed after. “This is the surprise?” He got off the horse.

“Yeah. Kairi and I found it the other day when we were out. I thought it would be nice to take you here with me.” Sora’s cheeks pinkened, making the freckles on his cheeks stand out. “Do you like it?”

“It’s gorgeous.” Riku tied his horse to the same tree as Sora’s. “We haven’t swam together for a while, huh?”

“Nope.” Sora said, cheekily, already tearing off his boots and socks and walking to the water. “The water’s gonna get cold Riku.” He shuffled out of his pants, Riku immediately turning around and working on his own boots.

“It’s probably already freezing.” He took off his shirt and pants until he was just left in his underclothes, turning back to see Sora in the same, though he had a tight black undershirt on as well. Riku chuckled. “Best to get in all at once.” He ran towards Sora, who only had a second to react before he was getting scooped into Riku’s arms and tossed into the pond.

“Riku!” Sora squealed, pushing hair back from his forehead, Riku laughing as he dove in after him. “That wasn’t funny.” Sora puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” He swam over to Sora and tucked an unruly piece of hair behind his ear. “Better.”

Sora felt his face heat up. “Y-Yeah I guess…” He shifted his gaze away and reached for Riku’s hand. “Actually… I brought you here to talk to you about something.”

Riku tilted his head and looked down at Sora. “Yes?”

“Well, I, um… I… Riku…” Sora finally looked up at Riku, hands tightening their grip. “Riku, I lo-” They both froze when an arrow went whizzing past Sora’s head.

“Sora! Out of the water!” Riku made his way to shield Sora’s body from anymore oncoming attacks. “Stay behind me until we find you cover.”

“Riku I can fight too! Let me help.”

“Absolutely not. You’re the final heir to this kingdom and I’m not going to let something like this,” he poked at where the scar was on Sora’s chest. “Happen again. I can’t risk losing you.” He stationed Sora behind their horses and drew his sword from his pack. “Stay put.”

“We were meant to protect each other, remember! We’re each others oath keepers! Let me help.”

“Sora please… Just let me protect you…” Sora opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it, sitting and waiting for Riku to get back.

Riku rushed into the forest just behind the pond before slowing, listening around him. He whipped his head around at the sound of a cracking twig, dodging an arrow and leaping towards the direction of the attack. He easily disarmed the attacker and pressed his sword to his throat, growling.

“Who sent you.” Riku said, glaring and digging the tip of the sword in deeper, drawing blood.

“Heh… Wouldn’t you like to know, dog.” The attacker spit at Riku’s feet and Riku slashed at his throat, watching the body crumble to the ground. He could take care of it later, but for now he had to get back to Sora.

He walked back to the pond and the horses, peering behind them to check if Sora was still where he left him. He sighed in relief to see him safe and sound. Sora seemed just as relieved as he did.

“Riku! Riku, you’re okay…” He jumped up and held Riku in a crushing hug. “I was so afraid that something bad was gonna happen to you…”

“Do you really think that little of me?” Riku said teasingly, but seeing Sora deflate at his words, he brought a hand up to his hair. “Hey… I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”

“I know you didn’t… I just… I think the world of you Riku. Never think otherwise.” Sora gripped at Riku’s shoulders and nuzzled his face into his chest.

“Hey Sora?”

“Yeah?”

“What were you gonna tell me earlier? If you don’t mind me asking.”

 

Sora flushed instantly but met Riku’s gaze. “That I love you, Riku. That I have for years now but I haven’t been able to find the right words, the right time. So I brought you here, thinking this would be the perfect place but…” He laughed sadly. “I guess I couldn’t even get that right… You’ve barely been able to look at me all day and now this…”

“Sora…” Riku cupped Sora’s cheeks, looking sadly at the tears that welled in Sora’s eyes and the way he turned his head away from Riku. “You’ve got it wrong. In fact, we’re kinda on the same page.”

Sora looked up, pouting. “What do you mean?”

“That I love you too, you big dork.” Riku smiled. “And all of this that happened today, it doesn’t matter, because you were here with me.”

“Ugh, gross. That was so cheesy.” Sora laughed and pressed a hand to Riku’s chest, pushing him away. “That still doesn’t explain why you wouldn’t look at me like at all today.”

“Well, I heard that if you stare at the sun for too long, you’ll go blind.” Riku saw Sora pause then groan and head back to the water, sitting at the edge.

“That was even worse…” Riku sat down next to him. “Why do I even like you in the first place?”

“Oh c’mon Sora.” Riku saw Sora giggle next to him. 

They laid back on the bank of the pond for a couple of minutes, feet in the water before Sora spoke.

“Hey Riku?”

“Hm?”

“Can, um… Can I… Kiss you? It’s fine if you say no…”

Riku sat in silence for a moment, stunned before he muttered out a, “... Yeah, you can kiss me…”

Sora sat up and leaned over Riku’s form, pressing his lips together shyly. “Are you sure..?”

“Oh for the love of…” Riku sat the rest of the way up, connecting his and Sora’s lips together. He could practically feel Sora melt against him. He pulled away, noting how wide Sora’s eyes were. “You can kiss me anytime you want.”

Sora nodded furiously and lay back on the grass at the bank, slowly intertwining his and Riku’s fingers.

Riku smiled and looked back up at the sky through the clearing.

They stayed like that for hours.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all can prob tell I got tired near the end. I may edit it in the future or add more to this universe but I hope you enjoyed. (Also not pictured, Kairi yelling at them for coming home so late. You guys know what they were doin ;)))


End file.
